Be’er Ora (B)

Yigal Israel

25/06/2009

Final Report

During October 2001, an excavation was conducted at a site located c. 600 m northeast of Be’er Ora (Permit No. A-3498; map ref. NIG 19825/40285; OIG 14825/90285), as part of activities to perpetuate the memory of the late Benny Meisner. The excavation, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and in conjunction with the Elat Field School and the Hevel Elot Regional Council, was directed by Y. Israel, with the assistance of V. Essman and V. Pirsky (surveying and drafting), N. Sneh (field photography), I. Dudin (pottery drawing), Y. Gorin-Rosen (glass finds) and U. Avner and A. Holzer.

The site (50 × 350 m) is located at the foot of a spur, on the northern bank of a tributary of Nahal Ora. The western part of the site was excavated (Fig. 1) and an open mosque (L52), a square building (L56), a round structure (Loci 53, 55), four courtyards (Loci 59, 60, 62, 63), which contained two installations (Loci 49, 61) and two open cells (Loci 44, 48) were exposed.

Open Mosque (Figs. 2, 3). A square building (L52; 1.75 × 2.00 m) whose four walls (W290–W293; width 0.4 m) were built of small fieldstones and preserved a single course high (0.2 m) was exposed. It seems that the walls were originally constructed to a height of two–three courses, without a roof. A semicircular mihrab (c. 0.50 × 0.75 m) was installed in the middle of the southern wall (W292). The small dimensions of the mosque indicate that it was used for prayer by one or two people. An area cleared of stones was discerned to the northwest of the mosque and three cairns were observed to its north.

Square Building (Fig. 4). The remains of a square building (3.8 × 4.9 m), which had been damaged in the past by mechanical equipment, were excavated. The walls (W294–W297; width 0.6 m, preserved height 0.3 m) were built of two rows of stones, bonded with earth mixed with gravel. The building’s entrance (width c. 0.6 m) was probably set in the southern wall (W294). The collapsed walls reached a height of 0.65 m above the floor (L51), which was composed of tamped earth with spots of ash above it. Potsherds dating to the Early Islamic period were discovered on the floor, including the base of a jug (Fig. 5:1), as well as a fragment of a glass vessel handle that probably belonged to a juglet from the Byzantine period. Olive and plum pits were found on the floor in the corner of the building. The collapsed walls (L57) were excavated around the building and a hearth (L58) was near the building’s southwestern corner.

Round Building (Figs. 6, 7). The structure was built of fieldstones and wadi pebbles set around a dugout pit (W285; diam. 3.5 m, depth 0.51 m). Two occupation levels (lower – L55, upper – L53) with ash and charcoal above them were discerned. A deposit between the occupation levels (L54) consisted of eolian soil and wadi soil that was washed into the dugout pit.

Courtyards. Four courtyards, cleared of stones and delimited by fieldstone-built walls, were excavated (Loci 59, 60, 62, 63). The earth in the courtyards served as floor and installations were exposed in most of them. Two other courtyards could be seen within the precincts of the site but were not excavated.

Courtyard 60 (240 sq m; 12 × 20 m) was delimited in the south by a line of small clearance stones (W270) that were piled several centimeters high. A fieldstone-built wall (W267; length 8 m, width 0.4 m, height c. 0.25 m) enclosed the courtyard on the eastern side. Potsherds dating to the Early Islamic period, including a bowl (Fig. 5:2), were exposed in the courtyard. A built installation (L61; 1 × 2 m) in the northern part of the courtyard was enclosed within two walls (W288, W289; width 0.2 m, height c. 0.25 m). A non-examined heap of stones was visible within the courtyard, south of the installation. Three walls (W268, W269, W271; width 0.25 m), built a single course high, enclosed a cell (L48; 2 × 3 m) in the southeastern part of the courtyard, which was open to the north.

Courtyard 59 (72 sq m; 6 × 12 m) was surrounded by walls on four sides. The eastern and northern walls (W276, W277; width 0.75 m, preserved height 0.3 m) had been damaged in the past by mechanical equipment. On the western side of the courtyard was a short section of a wall built of fieldstones (W275) and its continuation was a wall of small clearance stones. The southern wall (W283) was built of a single course of stones. A hearth (L64) was discovered in the northeastern corner of the courtyard and several non-diagnostic potsherds and copper slag were found on the floor.

Courtyard 62 (200 sq m; 10 × 20 m) was delimited by two walls (W286, W287; width 0.25 m) that formed a corner. The walls were built of a single course of fieldstones and small clearance stones.

The second built cell (L44; Fig. 8) was exposed in the middle of the area, between Courtyards 59 and 62. Walls built of small clearance stones (W272–W274; preserved height 0.17 m) enclosed the cell on three sides, leaving it open to the north. A flint Levallois point and a copper concentrate on limestone were discovered in the cell, whose plan and dimensions were similar to Cell 48. It seems that the two were used as open prayer cells.

The building remains at the site point to a settlement of several families that existed around a source of water at Be’er Ora. The various structures and the different building materials suggest that each family determined the shape of its living quarters and decided on the materials used in its construction. Building complexes that included both courtyards and round buildings, which are characteristic of a semi-nomadic population, were exposed at the site; alongside were complexes of square buildings that are dominant in permanent settlements. The residents were probably one large tribe that consisted of several families, perhaps the same number as the cleared courtyards. These families possibly lived in tents and buildings of organic materials that did not survive and stood in the area of the cleared courtyards. It is assumed that the square building was erected during a later phase of the site. Scant ceramic finds dating to the Early Islamic period were discovered in the excavation, as well as at other sites in the vicinity of Be’er Ora. These indicate a society that produced little refuse and its domestic ware was made of wood and perishable woven plants. It is also possible that the settlement lasted for only a short period or the site was abandoned and its residents took all their possessions with them.